ISLAMABAD - Diehard top cricket organisers of Rawalpindi District Cricket Association (RDCA) Ashiq Hussian and Mubashir Jaffar Kasuri, secretary Imran Cricket Club, urged Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani to look into non-cricketing and irresponsible activities of Masood Anwar and Asif Faridi.
In an interview with The Nation, Ashiq and Mubashir said: “Trials to select Rawalpindi District U-19 team for the coming Inter-District Under-19 Championship were conducted with more than 200 youngsters turned for the trials. But all of a sudden, Masood Anwar, who is also former RDCA president and former first class cricketer Asif Farid turned up with bad intent and to sabotage the trials process and tried to pressurise the selectors and misbehaved with selection committee.
“Both had intentions to pressurize the selectors to pick players of their liking. So much so they told the RDCA selectors that they would select their own team and will publish the list in the newspapers. It raises serious questions as to how can these persons, who had nothing to do with trials, could come and sabotage the entire transparent selection process,” they asserted.
They said that if such things are not stopped, anyone could come and sabotage the entire system. “We tried our level best not to create any scene and kept the situation under control. In fact, the disgruntled Masood and Faridi wanted to spoil the trials process just to get their blue-eyed selected by putting pressure on selectors.”
They said they also used the name of an incompetent high PCB official’s name just to threaten the selectors. They do not hesitate to say that they are doing this on behalf of high ranked PCB official as if PCB wants to favour Masood Anwar.
They further said that Masood Anwar was banned for financial embezzlement a few years back as now once again the PCB has banned him for doing some illegal activities. “The PCB has issued a notice to Masood, where he is not only banned but also barred from contesting any election.”
Ashiq and Mubahsir said the trails were supposed to start at 9:30am, but due to wet conditions of the pitch, they were started at 11am. Masood Anwar and allies were already present on the occasion with bad intent to spoil the trials and to get the desired results.
“The long-awaited elections of RDCA are round the corner. The free, fair and transparent scrutiny of clubs have already completed with PCB is supposed to announce polls date any time. It is for this reason, the Masood-Faridi duo is trying to create a situation and acting in a non-cricketing way,” they added.
Ashiq and Kasuri along with several hundred cricketers of Rawalpindi are demanding the PCB chairman to conduct an inquiry in this matter of grave importance and made it a test case for others as PCB authority would be undermined, if such happenings are ignored or blinked over. “It is our request to the PCB that they should announce Rawalpindi District elections as early as possible and once the elected body takes over, such elements will automatically vanish from the scene.” They said that transparent inquiry would help streamline things and punish those, who tried to kill the game’s spirit through their ill-behaviour.
“It is in everyone’s knowledge that Rawalpindi has been producing quality cricketers since long, as many of them serving in top departmental teams, national squads and bringing laurels for the country and Rawalpindi region.”